Certain home automation systems and techniques are known. Many known home automation systems and techniques may generally be classified as reactive to a real-time physical input. A well-known example are lights having attendant IR sensors (or like motion sensor), which will turn on when a person walks by, such as into a room. Such lights can often have an attendant daylight sensor (another real-time input), which will prevent the light from turning on when there is ambient daylight.
Other known home automation systems and techniques may generally be classified as pre-programmed to carry out certain functions when certain criteria are met. Many reactive systems are controlled by timers. For example, heating systems can be initiated automatically at a certain time of day, such as in the morning. Similarly, coffee makers can be automatically initiated at a specified time, so that a person has a cup of brewed coffee ready when he or she walks into the kitchen in the morning.
An example of a more complex home automation system is described in European Patent Application EP 1 102 500 A2 of Richton. The position of a wireless mobile unit (such as a wireless phone) carried by a person is used to determine the distance of the person to the home. Messages or instructions to perform certain actions based on the distance between the person and the home are generated and sent to a controller within the home. The controller causes the instruction to be enacted. For example, when the user is within a certain distance of the home, the home heating system may be instructed to turn on. Richton thus has features that are analogous to both a reactive system (i.e., a feature is engaged based upon proximity) and a pre-programmed system (i.e., engagement of a feature when certain pre-stored criteria are met).
Another example of a more elaborate pre-programmed type home automation system is described in PCT WO 01/52478 A2 of Sharood et al. In the Sharood system, existing home appliances and systems are connected to a control server. The user may control a selected appliance or system via a user interface that interacts with the server and can present graphic representations of the actual control inputs for the selected appliance or system. The user may therefore access the server and control appliances or systems remotely, for example, through an internet connection. In addition, the control server may be programmed so that certain appliances or systems are initiated and run under certain circumstances. For example, when a “vacation mode” is engaged, the lights are turned on at certain times for security purposes, and the heat is run at a lower temperature.
There are numerous deficiencies associated with the known home automation techniques and systems. For example, known reactive-type systems simply provide a fixed response when an input is received. Thus, for example, a motion sensor will switch on a light even if person would not otherwise want it on. Even a reactive system such as Richton, where certain reactions may be programmed, suffer from such a disadvantage. For example, a mobile phone that initiates certain functions in the home at certain distances that reflect a wife's preferences may create conditions that are not agreeable to a husband who is carrying his wife's phone.
Similarly, known pre-programmed type home automation systems have numerous deficiencies. For example, a timer that automatically turns on an appliance or system will do so unless it is turned off, thus creating situations that are undesirable or possibly unsafe. For example, if a person forgets to turn the timer of a coffee maker off on the day he or she has an early business meeting, a potential hazard may occur when the coffee maker is turned on later in the morning and remains on for the entire day. Likewise, for example, if the “vacation mode” is selected in Richton and a son or daughter who is unfamiliar with the system controls unexpectedly returns home from college for a weekend while the rest of the family is away, he or she may not be able to operate the lights, heating, etc. to their liking.
Other disadvantages of known home automation systems and techniques include an inability to identify a particular person and tailor a setting or response in the house to the preferences of the identified person. In addition, known systems and techniques do not respond with the preferred settings or responses based on the location of a particular person in the home. In addition, known systems and techniques do not respond with the preferred settings or responses of a number of persons based upon where they are located in the house.